“There’s a serial killer out there,” she said. “Of course people are serious.”

“Yeah, but what are the chances?”

“I’ll bet all the victims thought that.”

“But still, what are the chances?”

“Well, I imagine they are several million to one.”

“Not that high,” Jerome said, coming up behind us. “You’re only dealing with a small part of London. And while there might be a million or more people in that area, the Ripper is probably focusing on women, because all of the original victims were women. So halve that—”

“You really need another hobby,” Jazza said, opening the door to the refectory.

“I have plenty of hobbies. Anyway, the Ripper never showed any interest in kids or teenagers, so I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Does that make you feel better?”

“Not particularly,” Jazza said.

“Well, I tried.”

Jerome stepped aside to let me go in first. We got in line and loaded our plates. We had barely started eating when Mount Everest rumbled in with Claudia and Derek, the housemaster of Aldshot, in tow.

“They don’t look happy,” Jerome said.

He was right. There was a frazzled gloom around all three of them. They walked up to the dais in formation, Everest moving to the front, and Claudia and Derek flanking him with their arms folded across their chests, like bodyguards.

“Everyone!” he said. “Silence. I have an announcement to make.”

It took a moment for word to spread to all parts of the refectory that it was time to shut up.

“This evening,” he began, “as you all know, there is going to be a great deal of police activity in London because of the Ripper situation. Therefore, we are altering the schedule for today. All school activities after four P.M. are canceled so that teachers may return home.”

A cheer broke out.

“Settle down!” he said. “Dinner will be moved up to five P.M. so that kitchen staff can also return home before dark. All students will return to their houses after dinner and will remain there for the night. All other buildings will be off-limits and locked, including the library.”

A low groan went around the room.

“I want to convey the seriousness of this,” Everest added. “Anyone who attempts to leave school grounds faces the possibility of expulsion. Is that understood?”

He waited until he got a grumbled yes.

“I will meet with all prefects now, in my office.”

Jerome took a second to shove some extra food into his mouth before rising. At the end of our table, I saw Charlotte bounce up.

“This means I won’t have that extra hockey practice this afternoon,” I said to Jazza. “No hockey. No hockey.”

I banged my spoon on the table for emphasis, but she didn’t get excited.

“I wish I’d gone home,” Jazza said, poking at her food.